I'm Not Him
by discolight
Summary: It was very difficult having to deal with emotions you weren't sure you were ready for. It was even more difficult to keep yourself from falling for the doppelganger of who you originally sought. Sonic knew this all too well. Twoshot, SLASH.
1. Chapter 1

The further I got into this I felt that I had made it a lot longer than intended. This was originally going to be a oneshot but I found it to be way too long, so I cut it in half. I'm all welcome for criticisms! Just as long as...you know...you're not being a jerk about it. I'm a little rusty, so...

* * *

><p>Sonic was going mad.<p>

He forgot how long he had been in Camelot since he had saved the land from corruption. He knew well, though, that he had been there long enough. A day seemed like a week, and a week seemed like a month—that is, if he had even been there that long. He wasn't sure. It wasn't exactly the land itself that was bothering him, no. No, he found it to be a beautiful place, much as he loved wide open plains decorated with flowers. Sonic had always had an admiration to nature and all that it held. He had plenty of places here to run, especially if he needed to clear his mind. He also had to admire the buildings of the medieval era, built of stone and strong. He had seen many things in his life, and would continue to see even more, he had only wished that Tails could have seen all of this, maybe even Knuckles.

...Or maybe not. He imagined it'd be rather embarrassing with him in his current state.

The thought of it just drew him back to his current problem, and it didn't lie with him being stranded in a medieval world waiting on a sorceress to find a way to transport him back home. As much as that should've frustrated him, seeing as she managed to bring him here without breaking a sweat.

_It could be worse_, he'd think.

He thought of the chili dog he'd lost and one of his ears flicked irritatedly. He didn't mind the food here, though. He doubted the royal cook would understand what a chili dog was, let alone a _hot-dog_. Perhaps he was feeling a little alone? He shook his head slightly, he was sure Tails and the others were handling themselves alright, and depending upon the time span, hopefully he wasn't gone as long as he had convinced himself. And at least the people here resembled his comrades in his own realm.

He choked.

_Yeah that's the problem._

Sonic had always been a carefree person. Though, even he had to admit there were times when he would feel the weight of the world on his chest. Being a hero wasn't easy, there were people who admired him, idolized him, and then there were the people who hated him, and after two very disturbing and awkward incidents, _stalked_ him. But he never let down his title. He had always done his job.

Paying too much attention to emotions wasn't exactly his thing. He spent his life on the edge, it was difficult to ever bring him down. He was an optimist, outgoing, _alive_. When a friend of his was down, he usually did well in cheering them up. He was very easy to get along with. Burdening himself with negative emotions was very rare, and in those scarce situations in which they _did_ catch up to him, they tripped him up, and _hard_. He hated that feeling. He had always been the one wearing a grin on his face, always ready for action. He hated feeling sad, or depressed, all those melancholy feelings that made him waste his time moping around like—

His muzzle twisted angrily.

_Like that faker._

_That_ was his problem. His ebony counterpart.

At the moment Sonic was racing through open plains, leaving a long trail of bent grass behind him. He had to clear his head. He didn't like thinking too much, and that was exactly what he was doing right now. That was another thing he hated. His mind kept babbling to him like Amy when trying to force the details of her dream date into his head. As much as he tried to push it away, it kept coming back stronger and louder, like the more he tried to fight it off, the more he fed it what it wanted. ...Definitely like Amy. He could almost laugh.

That was what made him feel the long amount of time he had been in Camelot. Someone there had made him think. Had unintentionally caused him to feel certain emotions that he wasn't even sure he _wanted_ to feel, had caused him to develop a nervous habit of pacing, fidgeting, and, again, thinking.

_Need to stop thinking_.

When he realized who the person was when he encountered him long before the Dark Queen's defeat, he assumed they'd be just like their doppelganger from Sonic's realm. He expected a foul temper, sharp tongue, an ego that somehow eclipsed Sonic's own. While he was partially right, the other half surprised him. This world's version seemed to have more manners than the one Sonic knew, though he had to remember he was in a medieval era...the people here were bound to have more politeness than the modern world. This place had its fair share of rudeness, too, however.

It was how Sonic was starting to have a difficult time trying to not call the familiars by the names they were characterized with. Every now and then he'd slip up and say "Tails", or "Knuckles" or...

_Shadow_.

_Errgh_.

The black hedgehog never bothered him like this before, never made him this irritated and confused. For a while, Sonic couldn't lie and say that Shadow was a bad person, just sometimes he got his morals and priorities a little mixed up—he always fought for what he deemed was right, and Sonic couldn't put him down for that, it was what he himself did as well, only he did it for good, whereas Shadow would try to stop him if he tried getting in his way 'for the good of the world' or some other ridiculously cheesy line that Shadow didn't see to fit. But it wasn't as if Sonic hated him for this, not at all—the two of them were rivals, not _sworn enemies_. Sonic simply displayed a more friendly approach to him, and it was kind of amusing at times to see Shadow get flustered and irritated at Sonic's behavior.

Maybe Sonic simply didn't want to admit the other part that had, and _still_, made him slightly uncomfortable. He wouldn't deny being confused, this was something he hadn't paid much attention to before, these...aforementioned emotions that never got in the way of his lighthearted approach on life. When he thought about it...and this was completely going against the purpose of his run around the plains...he did in fact realize that he was, in some way, drawn to Shadow. Perhaps it was mostly due to him being a damn good racing partner, that he was the other half of the yin-yang, that he was _almost_ like Sonic in every way. He was the other whole to the circle. Neither of them were two halves. They were simply two wholes that, when put together, made an even bigger whole.

Maybe just..._once_, he decided. Just this one time he decided that there was indeed something about his streaked counterpart that he found intriguing, that he was—dear Chaos he couldn't believe he was thinking this—perhaps even attracted to him in a certain fashion. Sonic never bore any physical desires for anyone, that wasn't his sort of thing. But if someone had an air of adventure, had the exciting, insatiable desire for a challenge, being only needle's-distance from death and enjoying every second of it, the elation and excitement being that close and coming out of it alive...that was something that would automatically claim Sonic's attention. He loved it. He adored it. It was in his blood, it was what he lived for.

And a very large quantity of it lead a trail straight towards Shadow.

A memory suddenly came back to him. It wasn't very long ago, when the two of them were racing together on a mission. It was unfortunate for them that they had to run through a snow storm to get to their destination. They had managed to make it through, only that Shadow had to practically drag Sonic about half of the rest of the way to the base due to Sonic nearly passing out from the cold. _Shadow_ had actually gone out of his way to get Sonic to safety.

Sonic remembered his face dazedly pressed against Shadow's shoulder and the smell of sandalwood on his fur.

He suddenly smacked a hand over his face. He couldn't believe he was really thinking all of this. Yet at the same time, he wasn't trying to abrasively deny it. He knew there was something going on, something out of place with his emotions. But he couldn't exactly understand it, didn't know what it was, what it was doing...or perhaps why it even arose within him in the first place. Shadow was a _male_, for starters. That certainly confused the daylights out of Sonic.

He had also contemplated on what Shadow's thoughts were. The other never seemed to show any sign of discomfort or uneasiness around the azure hedgehog, though, Shadow was never really one to show anything more than an unimpressed frown to begin with. It was hard to tell. He had always been a bit of a mystery to Sonic, maybe that was another reason why he was intrigued by him. There was so much about him to explore, and there was even the tiniest, barest hint of Shadow actually loosening up around him before. Getting more comfortable. Sonic had welcomed it, appreciated it. Sometimes he honestly wished he could understand what was beneath the streaked one, maybe even see if he had been feeling the same strange things as Sonic. But just him simply lightening up, even just barely, was enough. Saying he didn't care about Shadow would be a lie, and the two had seemed to grow more trustworthy of each other over time. Shadow had shown more than once that he would gladly readily come to Sonic's aid should he need it.

Sonic had been told before that when paired up with Shadow in battle, they became a very formidable force. The sapphire hero had no doubt of this, his most notable memory being going up against Biolizard. They were equal energies, equal forces, except Sonic was faster and Shadow was more destructive. Sonic could take anything Shadow could dish out, and vice versa.

This..._other_ Shadow, however...was a whole other ballpark.

Sonic came to a skidding halt to the top of a hill, where he got a perfect view of Camelot Castle. The wind against his fur felt wonderful, though he wished he could pay more attention to his surroundings had his thoughts not decided to wander.

It was his first time actually contemplating walking the rest of the way there.

He turned his head out towards the horizon and saw that it was getting darker. It would be nighttime soon. He simply sighed, deciding that perhaps he could check on Merlina. With a slight nod, he dashed off the hill and towards the castle.

* * *

><p>Sonic arrived at the castle in time before nightfall, for once not really in a rush to get anywhere. Citizens inside its walls greeted him kindly, some surprised at him due to their former king not having been as nonchalant with them. In this day and age, class meant almost everything—royalty rarely ever spoke to the common folk, or the stuck-up ones at least. Sonic didn't care for this at all. He much less cared for being called 'king' or any other title that beheld him as some type of royalty. He was simply Sonic, nothing more, nothing less.<p>

He had visited Merlina, who was, as presumed, in the library researching spells to send him home. He didn't think she could apologize enough to him for the inconvenience of being unable to send him home. It was guessed that she had thought that the hero she brought into this world would stay with them as their new king. Not that he minded, of course.

Well...he rewound that statement—thinking back on how his mind had gone wild during his run around the plains, he was starting to crave distractions. Sparring became somewhat of a therapy session and it worked to relieve any stress he had pent up. It was odd since running had always helped him in, well, _everything_. He really wished Tails were here right now. Granted, the local blacksmith was practically a copy of Tails, just without the name. It still felt a little odd. He almost wished even Amy had been here too. ...Or not. He at one point found himself preferring Nimue, being she lacked a giant hammer and wasn't chasing him obsessively across the earth. Not that he liked Amy any less, of course—she was a sweet girl. He just liked to be able to _breathe_.

He exited the library and gave a heavy sigh, resting a hand on his hip and looking out one of the openings in the outer hall that showed the starlit night sky. Merlina was still digging in books, and was having help from Sir Percival as well. He debated whether to find Gawain and spar again, but it was late already and he had sparred with him enough. Not to mention he found it very odd to see _Knuckles_ talk and act like he did, even though it wasn't really his echidna friend.

"My lord."

Sonic immediately froze and areas of his fur stood on end. He debated whether he should just bolt in the other direction and not acknowledge who had just spoke to him, but he had already acted against this before he could choose otherwise.

He turned to find Lancelot, Shadow's persona, still clad in his armor, regarding him as he stopped a few or more feet away from the blue hero. Sonic had wished he had simply gone straight to his quarters. Deciding to try and be as nonchalant as possible to make it through another night, he simply waved a hand and replaced the other hand on his hip.

"Heya, Lance. Nice night, isn't it?" He didn't have to see Lancelot's face to know that he had raised a brow at Sonic's nickname for him.

"Indeed. I take it your lap around the lake was refreshing?" A short laugh struck Sonic's mind at this question, but he shrugged lightly.

"Not really, which is strange because it usually helps. Maybe I just need sleep."

The knight raised his chin just slightly. "You _have_ been lacking a lot of rest, as I've seen. ...Has Merlina made any progress in her research?" The ebony one inquired. Sonic halted the urge to twist his muzzle a little; this Shadow was even more formal than the one he knew. Always business with him.

He shook his head. "No, none yet. Percival is helping her out though for tonight."

"They will find something, in the meantime I would suggest resting for the nights you have skipped, my lord."

Sonic pressed a finger to his temple and rubbed it slightly, sighing aggravatingly. "That's the _problem_, though—I _hate_ not being able to do anything. And I hate even more when I can't sleep because of something else bothering me."

Lancelot studied him. This next part, which Sonic was getting good at predicting, was something that the speedster was starting to really hate. The dreaded silence. He opened his eyes and let his hands rest at his sides, suddenly finding it difficult to look at the knight across from him, who appeared to be calculating a proper response in his head. For a moment, he thought that he might've said just a little too much to spark curiosity in the other's mind. Sometimes he hated not being able to see the ebony one's face, even though all he was probably doing was glaring.

"My lord, if I might inquire," He started; a very minor flicker of annoyance flew across Sonic and diminished as quickly as it arrived—no matter how many times he had asked, Lancelot, out of the others, was the only one that simply insisted on calling him by his royal title. "but what exactly is bothering you? You've been rather...stressed these last few days."

For a split second, Sonic thought he had caught a hint of regret in Lancelot's body language as he spoke those words, almost as if he was mentally telling himself that he shouldn't have asked. Sonic gave a weak, but warm smile at him.

"Ah, it's...eh...kind of complicated." Before Lancelot could respond, Sonic blurted: "Hey, are you free to spar for a little while? If you want to, that is."

The knight paused, blinking under his helmet. Watching him, Sonic wasn't sure if he had seen a tiny smile almost break out onto the streaked one's muzzle. If it was, it was gone within a second. "I would be honored to spar with you, my lord."

_Chaos. Well, at least he's not calling me 'king'._

* * *

><p>There was a bit of a walk over towards the barracks. Sonic saw no point in rushing there; maybe this was what he needed to help relieve his tension? Go to the source of the problem and sort it out from there. Except Lancelot wasn't exactly the source, he was just a branch off the main one. But perhaps if he could somehow sort out his uneasiness with Lancelot, perhaps that would help him with any further approach on Shadow himself.<p>

He wasn't very sleepy yet anyway. Another good exercise would perhaps tire him out.

Once again, the silence seemed to stretch, with only an occasional attempt at conversation, and even that wasn't very much. At this point he figured the shorter the attempt, the more awkward it became, and he was positive this time that Lancelot had the mutual feeling as well. He regretted choosing to let the silence linger a little longer this time. After a few minutes passed, he was starting to _really_ regret it: his thoughts began to wander once again.

Lancelot was walking ahead of him now, and all of a sudden Sonic was all the more aware of tiny, insignificant details, and found himself staring at the ebony hedgehog's back. The darkness of his fur and the jaggedness of his spikes against the night for some unknown reason reminded him of a wraith; both versions of Shadow were forces not to be trifled with, they were the embodiments of death if they wanted to be. The wish for Lancelot to not wear all that armor at the moment arose, so that he could admire him as he was and in fact even gave a tiny speck of frustration that he couldn't look at his face due to constantly being hid behind a shining mask. His eyes trailed over the two spikes on the knight's back, up towards the streaks atop the six main, larger spikes on his head, curved upwards ever so elegantly and bobbing gently with the steps he took as he walked. He had a grace about the way he walked and the way he fought and he was almost exactly like Shadow and _Chaos_ Sonic slipped again and let himself admit that both of these creatures were in some way a work of art.

Sonic emitted a frustrated groan at himself.

"What is it?" Lancelot glanced back at him, to which Sonic immediately came back into reality.

"N-Nothing."

"You're stammering."

"Yeah I'm...just a little cold. That's all." He rushed to pick himself up from his stumbling words. "Hey how about a race to the rest of the way there?"

Lancelot stopped and turned to look at him, and again, Sonic could feel him raising a brow underneath his helm. "I do not think that will be necessary."

The azure one blinked and then looked up past his counterpart, noticing the barracks directly behind him. He chuckled sheepishly. "...Oh. Yeah. Right."

He mentally scolded himself harshly. Sonic could get along with just about anyone, could _talk_ to almost anyone. Except this was the only time his tongue had to get tied. He felt ridiculous.

But, he was the one who initiated this. He'd have to be the one to work himself out of it.


	2. Chapter 2

The two had spent at least two hours going against one another. Sonic was positive that it was late in the night by now. He never had any real concept of time anymore in this place. Right now, however, he didn't seem to mind at all. Not right now at least, that was the last thing on his mind. At the moment he was far too into his sparring with Lancelot, and he had begun to wonder if this was a good idea or not.

Surprisingly enough, Caliburn hadn't uttered a word against Sonic's desires to spar all the time, despite how he had developed a hobby out of degrading his wielder. He had made himself clear as to not get attached to, though he did develop some toleration to Sonic. He was, after all, the one who revealed the blue hedgehog to be the true king of Camelot. During the last few days, Caliburn knew that Sonic's nerves were stretched, and that he should not intrude on this personal matter. At a time like right now, Sonic appreciated no intervention.

Their swords repeatedly clashed with one another; unbeknownst to Sonic, each time the weapons sung out from their impact, it sent an exhilarating chill through Lancelot's body. Sonic wouldn't put it past him. Contradictory to the azure hero's adoration for speed, Shadow favored power, and it showed. A good battle was something he loved, which Sonic could understand. He loved the thrill, the adventure it gave, he loved how it got your blood pumping, your adrenaline rushing. Getting cut and bruised and having the absolute confidence and ability to look death in the face and laugh. It made you realize you were capable of doing all these things and survive, it made you feel _alive_.

It was absolute euphoria.

Of course, Sonic was much more lighthearted than this. Shadow was more violent, thus why Sonic wouldn't be surprised if Lancelot were the same.

Sonic's pent up frustration began to show in his swings and moves, and Lancelot was picking up on them quickly, using them against the sapphire king, which only made him even more irritated. Sonic's ego wouldn't let him lose. It made him a tad messy in the sparring match that had been lasting the last hour. The speedster wasn't even sure now how this would settle his issue with the one that had been causing his emotions to go haywire. Right now he seemed more focused on beating his opponent rather than sorting things out. And in the current situation, he was very slow to realize that this would do him no good.

They both swung, they kicked, punched, and about thirty more minutes into the spar, they had _truly_ begun to actually fight. Sonic had been tossed across the stone room, Lancelot had been kicked off his feet, and after seeing who could punch the hardest did they become fully in tune with one another's strength and desperation to win the battle. What Sonic didn't know, however, was that Lancelot was studying him very carefully. Whether or not he was simply playing along to let Sonic empty his aggression, or that he was truly as aggravated as his rival, was unknown.

Finally, Sonic had found an opening and had elbowed Lancelot in the stomach, grasping his arm and hauling him over his shoulder, landing him on the ground with a loud thud and ran around to face him, pinned him down by hovering over him with his sword. Caliburn resisted a dry compliment to his victory.

Both hedgehogs were panting aggressively, fighting nonstop for two-and-a-half hours taking its toll on them and both realizing they needed to rest.

Yet Sonic didn't move.

Lancelot lay quietly on the floor, awaiting for Sonic to choose the next move. Yet another wave of silence hung in the air, the two hedgehogs slowly catching their breath, staring at one another, feeling something that neither of them could quite put their finger on. The longer he looked at Lancelot, the quicker his mind worked, tangling his thoughts and emotions even further than they were before. His knight was still, not making a single move other than his mouth partially open to breathe, chest rising and falling beneath his breastplate. His eyes pierced through the grates in Lancelot's helm.

The dark one simply waited, almost as if he was _beckoning_ for Sonic to try something, whatever it may be. It was like he was examining his king. Yet another thing that intrigued Sonic, Lancelot was _testing_ him. Sonic had no idea what was going on inside his head, he was an unpredictable sort. The way he seemed to submit for that small moment was nearly out of character for him. It was as if he already knew what Sonic's reaction would be, but was waiting to see if he would choose otherwise. And the hero simply stared.

_He's not Shadow._

Sonic's breathing then became ragged due to something completely different than exhaustion, his breath suddenly catching in his throat as he carefully, slowly, moved his sword to the side—much to Caliburn's utter nervousness at the tension of the situation—and tentatively moved his hand towards the helm, aiming to lift it from Lancelot's face. It struck as a realization then that Sonic was _nervous_. His hands were shaking, as if he would be sharply rejected. His fingertips cautiously stopped just atop the helm's metal, barely brushing them against its surface, an implication that he possibly thought he should not go through with this.

_Did his king truly fear his intentions?_

And that was his opening. Lancelot, in a black blur, shot a hand up to grasp Sonic's arm and throw him onto his back on the ground, Caliburn slipping from the azure hedgehog's grip and clattering to the floor with a minor yelp, Lancelot repositioning himself exactly where Sonic had been a few seconds ago, holding the edge of his blade close to Sonic's face. What had just happened was so fast that even Sonic the Hedgehog had to take a moment to figure out how he was lying on the floor now. His brain was definitely scrambled right now.

"You let down your guard, my lord." The way he spoke was enough to drive Sonic's irrational anger through the roof, being at how quietly he had spoken was not helping the situation. "That is a first."

Sonic would have retorted, but his current state of mind was such a maelstrom that he could hardly even form up a coherent response to the statement. However, it appeared that Lancelot _had_ been studying the speedster—or maybe Sonic was too easy to read, either one of those made him shift uncomfortably—and slowly reached a hand up to his helm, lifting it from his face and, to Sonic's surprise, took the entire thing off and gently sat it aside on the floor next to them. Sonic stared. Again.

And there was his face, eclipsed and shaded from the lights that gleamed behind him; curious, mysterious, _shining_ were those rubies he had for eyes. More silence, and Lancelot once again took the opportunity to try and break it, by very, very slowly reaching his free hand up, but halting before he went too far. He paused. Like he was waiting for an approval from his king to even so much as touch him, Chaos knew what kind of disruption that could cause should it get out into the public, it was a gesture that could mean a number of things, and the azure hedgehog made no hint of negativity towards his knight. He took the hint, and proceeded, a gauntlet-covered hand gently, halfway cupped the side of Sonic's face. Nothing more. Like he knew that he should not intrude any further, that he knew what the other was thinking.

Yet, this was probably the second time he had seen Lancelot unmasked. And he had the slightest of smiles, soft, warm, welcoming. There was no contempt or disgust within this knight's face.

Sonic's breath hitched.

"Now that we are at a mutual level of interest...this would...most likely be a good time to explain what is bothering you...Sonic." He still spoke so softly, quietly, trying to not startle Sonic any more than he already was. And, to top it off, this was probably the first time he had said his name without addressing it with a title.

So he _did_ know, then. Truthfully, Sonic wasn't too shocked, but that didn't make him feel any less insecure. "You..." He gulped, choosing his words very carefully. He wasn't even sure how to put it. "...remind me of someone. Over in my world."

_Now_ Sonic was very happy he could see the other's face. Lancelot's brows raised, and this time a more noticeable smile—no, a _grin_, came onto his face. "I had gathered that may have been the cause of your unrest." He propped himself up on one knee and helped pull Sonic into a sitting position. "I remember you mentioning that significant others here are like people from your realm."

Sonic nodded, idly reaching a hand up to brush his fingers against the spot Lancelot had touched. "Yeah..." He shot a nervous glance at the knight. "...Sorry about that. I kind of...have unsettled business with him, I guess."

Lancelot's only response was a mere shrug. "Interesting that it is a _male_, though, that you are drawn to."

The hero glared at the floor, seemingly embarrassed by this resolution. "Yeah. I'm still trying to work that out myself. I never would've even _thought_..."

Lancelot bore a hesitating glance at Sonic. He had realized that he was, in some way, part of the problem, and in doing so caused him to be very cautious in what he said, or did. "So, the one you are interested in is an alternate version of myself." It was more of a statement than a question. He didn't really need to ask, it had already been made obvious.

Sonic merely nodded his response, now finding it difficult to look at the other.

"I cannot say that I know how to resolve this. But if it bothers you to this extent, I would not recommend keeping it bottled in when you return home. It ends badly, if the last few hours are any indication."

The speedster was confused, once again. He was wondering why Lancelot wasn't reacting with disgust, or maliciousness. He didn't think they tolerated such things during these times. Yet he was...welcoming it? Well, maybe not welcoming it, but he wasn't giving him any negative responses. Yet.

"Maybe. I'm not too good at this stuff. I've never even thought about this sort of thing before. It just sort of...happened."

"That is how the truest of its kind is formed." This was when Lancelot turned to look at him, giving him a meaningful stare. Both hedgehogs seemed to silently agree to leave unsaid the word they were talking about. To Sonic, it would be rather corny to say it aloud. But he wouldn't dismiss it, because he knew that the subject revolved around that particular emotion. He just wasn't sure whether to pursue it or not.

"I'm still not sure. I guess I can...somehow sit him down and...talk to him or something." _Haha, yeah, right, are you kidding? I'm just gonna take Shadow's hands, plop him down in a seat and say 'Hey Shadow I have a thing for you'. That'll definitely work._ He chose not to say his thoughts aloud.

Sonic snuck another glance at Lancelot, and realized that the ebony hedgehog was staring at him oddly. The realization hit him a little harder due to the fact that he had his helm off, and it was easier to see where he was looking, _how_ he was looking...and right now he looked like he was trying to bore into Sonic's mind, read it, understand it..._comfort_ it. An unfortunate mishap on Sonic's part when he caught himself looking at the other's eyes, or markings. He had to mentally lash himself again that this _was not Shadow. Don't fall for the wrong person_. It was like getting a static shock whenever he tried to lean towards the other, and he was suddenly brought out of his musing when he noticed that Lancelot had gotten extremely close to him within a second, but then recoiled and sat farther away as if he had just stuck his hand into a fire. Like he had somehow managed to actually discover what Sonic was thinking. He shifted a little.

"Yo, Lance, you okay—?"

"It is not my place to tread."

Sonic blinked. _What...?_ A sheepish grin formed. "I don't know what you're talking about—"

"I am not him."

_That_ certainly brought him back into the reality of the conversation. Hearing him say it aloud seemed to automatically sort out the files in his brain in alphabetical order and slam the mental filing cabinet drawers shut with a loud clang. It was a welcome aid, but definitely silenced Sonic on the spot.

That was when he noticed that Lancelot wasn't paying any mind to his lack of facial cover, and Sonic could have sworn he was seeing several hints of regret and possible disappointment in the knight's features. This opened up a whole new area of exploration in Sonic's mind, to which he inwardly colorfully cursed and swore at _it wasn't like there was enough going on in his head to give him a headache already, no_.

Was Lancelot...upset at this? That it wasn't him Sonic was interested in? A second time he resisted the urge to laugh—this wasn't like his character at all. There must've been a gas leak. But that would've been absurd. And Sonic was merely speculating and assuming things.

"Yeah...I get that. Is something wrong...?"

The streaked one shot him a look. This time the silence dropped heavily, and lasted for what Sonic imagined to be a good four or five minutes. Something was going on in the black hedgehog's mind.

"Lance...I've already made it obvious what's bothering me. Talk to me." The knight hesitated, but Sonic cut him off. "And no, that was not an order from your 'king'. Just talk to me, like I'm a normal person."

A flash of disbelief in the other hedgehog's eyes. It wouldn't be the first time—nearly everyone he talked to seemed to have the same reaction. Their king? Wanting to converse with less-superiors like them? It was the most complex concept for them to wrap their minds around. It was irritating. Sonic beckoned for him again.

"...No. I am afraid that is not the best idea." He spoke quieter, as if someone would shatter his words should they be spoken too loud for anyone else to hear. Sonic moved to scold him, but Lancelot raised his head to look at his king kindly, gently. It was something that was an extreme rarity on Shadow—this version of him, Lancelot, seemed to still have a softness about him that made it all the more difficult for Sonic to keep to himself.

"My lord—" A glare from said king, "—_Sonic_...I have no business intruding that far on this issue. It is yours to sort out. _He_ is yours to sort out." A pause, a minor glance at the floor, before turning back to the other. "If you pursue what you seek too far in this realm, you will only end up hurt."

The azure hedgehog took a moment to let this sink in. Then it hit him. Lancelot was possibly having a flicker of the same issue that Sonic was. Something was going on. And somehow, this gave him some sort of twisted hope that it would mean the same for the other one involved in this. But Lancelot? What was he to do? He was right. He realized that Sonic was interested in his doppelganger, and he knew that if he tried to interject, then something bad would happen. Sonic had to return home, that was one thing, but another's feelings were also a part of the problem, and he did not want to be the reason for the wreckage. Especially when it included his king...his _adoring_ king. God help him, were it any different...

But this was a little shocking. It was..._Lancelot_. Sonic hadn't even thought that possible. He was certain the other didn't think so either, but right now, what he had said, what he had shown; he didn't want to take the role which someone else was supposed to be taking, not to mention what consequences they would receive. A knight becoming intimate with his _king_? Heaven knows what kind of chaos would ensue should that get out of hand and into the public. Sonic was certain of this too. When in a predicament like this, it had to be treated carefully, and unfortunately, that applied for Sonic's world as well. There was no telling who was bound to blow things out of proportion.

Were there another way for the knight...

The thoughts were quickly shaken off. The night had gone from awkward, to tense, to both crammed together into a mess of nonexchangeable words that were meant for completely different people. Neither would be able to forget, and both continued to think, but Sonic's mind was no longer a hopelessly tangled mess of confusion and frustration. Lancelot's words rang true, and they both agreed; there was no need for more. Sonic had been relieved of the branch of the problem.

Caliburn, who was still lying on the floor a few feet away, took the moment to clear his non-existent throat, disrupting the hedgehogs' silence and bringing them back to attention. Sonic and Lancelot shared a quick glance at one another before they moved to stand, only, unexpectedly, Sonic found himself shooting a hand out to gently grasp Lancelot's wrist, causing him to look at his king in shock.

"You won't ditch me, will you? You'll stay, right here, until I leave." He inquired, maybe a little more desperately than he intended. Sonic wasn't sure why he had blurted that out—by the time he'd grabbed Lancelot's wrist his mind and body ran on autopilot.

It was Lancelot's turn to freeze. He was certain they were both treading on dangerous territory...but he somehow let himself choose to have at least one little slip-up. He waited a moment, before taking Sonic's hand in his own and bowing his head, raising Sonic's knuckles to his mouth to a soft, gentle kiss. The speedster's cheeks flushed and he suddenly forgot if this was a knightly gesture or if this was a bit more personal. Or both.

"I will serve you endlessly until you have departed from this realm." He lowered Sonic's hand and looked back up at him, practically beaming through his eyes as he said those words. He meant every one of them.

Sonic was still blushing, feeling rather embarrassed and close to smacking Lancelot for the overly royal gesture, but appreciated his loyalty. Naturally he would've found it overly-sappy but this time...it was new, like he could get used to it. He smiled at him warmly and nodded.

"Thanks."

And with that, the two of them collected their swords and walked back to the castle. Relief and reassurance had been given, and they would both be ready, whenever the time came, for the moment when Sonic would have to leave. It was inevitable. But after this...Lancelot was a knight. He would serve his land's king no matter what. Sonic was always ready, always to jump into action. He would continue fighting, no matter what happened.

And they would be ready to say goodbye.


End file.
